Sanctuary for Cultural Unity

Digesting the LTA Conference by Shaniqua Bowden 

This May 2nd and 3rd I had the pleasure of attending my 2nd Land Trust Alliance Conference- an annual event where land trusts all over the region commune, learn, share information and network.  This year's theme was Building Healthy Communities. Additionally, the first panel was entitled Pathways to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) where our executive director, Julia Farr, and I presented on our organization's process surrounding our Pine Street African Burial Ground initiative.  

I felt privileged being in this room for many reasons.  Primarily, I thought it was invigorating to hear what others were doing on the land to employ out-of-the-norm thinking and include populations most often left out of picture.  One attendee expressed this phenomena saying, "The shift from transaction to relationship is happening all over."  For me, this statement specifically identified the effort of humanizing required for authentic DEI work.  And with 2019 being the 400th year anniversary since slavery began in America, I believe it’s more than an understatement when saying that people of color have waited a long time for this awakening amongst the masses.  

I also speak from the perspective of a reserved woman of color who has been the minority in many crowds and swarms, usually overlooked and ignored.  Therefore I know what it feels like when special attention on diversity, equity and inclusion warms the temperature of a room, like an open invitation, to a degree that I dare lift my voice with ingredients of confidence and the faith needed to be received. Furthermore taking the chance to achieve an understanding that may ultimately be converted into a change agent- and that, is monumental.  That is what every conscious, empathetic being lives and sometimes dies for.

Throughout the conference there were multiple touch points driving the DEI conversation home for me. That night I attended a dinner for Women of Color in Community Conservation Work.  However, this rendezvous turned out to be a focus group part of a nation-wide study revealing that LTA wanted to know more about how the organizations we represented were engaging “urban” communities. It was nice that someone asked the question, hopefully, with the intention of doing more to create opportunities for such communities.

I identified the third touchpoint at the workshop for Developing Millennial Leaders that Land Trusts Need.  During that presentation many radical points were made to illuminate benefit diversification that would directly increase job satisfaction (later leading to employee retention).  It was a reimagining of work culture, an inclusionary zone where practicality met modern living for evolved thinkers who were not yet creatively stunted, or fully indoctrinated by cubicle isolation and neutralized hardscapes. They seek a more colorful and integrated approach- like the ability to do your laundry at work.  These hybrid ideas are the embodiment of diversity and are the result of young professionals, people of color and other marginalized folks who have finally been offered a seat at the table; it resonated well with me.

On the drive back from Saratoga Springs I was bursting at the seams with ideas.  And as previously expressed, what’s more important than having ideas is taking into account the comprehension factor when you unleash them.  Our executive director not only heard what I said, she translated this wishlist into an action plan where my dream job and mission in life intersect deep in my soul. I'm on the pathway of finding common ground where we all can co-exist, heal and create harmonious relationships- and in honor of this 2019 LTA conference, build healthy communities.

If you are inspired by the ideas expressed here we invite you to respond.  Additionally, if you’d like to share a story with us, you can submit your prose for review to be included in our Team Voices Blog.